2008 Opens Kick Off in Florida

For a shot at the all-cash winner’s haul of $45,000, pros in the season-opening Bassmaster Southern Open, set for Jan. 17-19, will have to go with the tidal flow of Florida’s 310-mile, fish-rich St. Johns River.

Out of Palatka, Fla., the St. Johns tournament is the first of this year’s six Bassmaster Open events — three Southern Opens and three Central Opens. This month’s Florida competition also leads off the professional-level events of the 2008 BASS season, including the Bassmaster Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell, Feb. 22-24.

About 200 Southern Open pros will launch at 7:15 a.m. ET, Jan. 17-19, at James C. Godwin Riverfront Park, 301 River Street in Palatka. Also at the park, weigh-ins will begin at 3:20 p.m. The launches and weigh-ins are open to the public and free of charge.

Fishing fans can follow the action at http://www.ESPNOutdoors.com, where free access to streaming video and a real-time leaderboard begins at 3:20 p.m. each day of the event.

Besides a cash prize, pros will be aiming to win enough points to give them a jump start on eligibility for the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series and a berth in the 2009 Bassmaster Classic. At the end of the ‘08 season, the top three in the Southern Open’s points race will win ’09 Classic entries; the top ten will qualify to join the Elite Series, the upper echelon of competitive bass fishing.

The site of 15 previous BASS events, the St. Johns River — Florida’s longest river — holds big largemouth bass, according to Bassmaster Elite Series pro Preston Clark of Palatka, who has added all six ’08 Opens to his 11-event Elite schedule.

“It’s going to take over a 9-pounder to win big fish,” Clark predicted, referring to the Open’s $1,000 Purolator Big Bass bonus. “In (recent one-day) tournaments on the river with a five-fish limit, it’s taken over 25 pounds to win.”

Figuring out the tidal fishery will be the biggest challenge for Open contenders, he said.

“You have to fish moving tides at the right times in the right spots. Some that are good on incoming tides aren’t any good on outgoing tides, and vice versa,” Clark said.

Because the river’s freshwater bass and saltwater species often school together, it’s not uncommon to hook into striped bass, flounder and other saltwater fish, he said, and anglers can burn a lot of time on species that don’t count at the BASS scales.

If the warming water reaches temperatures right for a spawn, Open pros will have to switch to sight-fishing to boat the largest of the river’s largemouths.

Another Open contender who can tap into a home-water advantage is Elite pro Terry Scroggins of San Mateo, Fla., who is looking for more Sunshine State magic. He won last year’s first Open event, on Florida’s Kissimmee Chain, and holds title to three other Florida-venue tournaments, including one on the St. Johns in 2001.

“I’ve fished the St. Johns for 30 years, so I have some advantage,” he said. “If the weather and water stay cool, I can work offshore structure, and I’ll keep the advantage. But if it warms up for a full spawn and the tournament becomes a sight-fishing deal, I won’t have it.”